Sunday: Joseph’s Rise to Power
For Joseph, Pharaoh’s dreams revealed what God was “about to do” (Genesis 41:28, NKJV) in the land. Joseph, however, does not call on Pharaoh to believe in Joseph’s God. Instead, Joseph’s immediate response is action. Joseph proposes an economic program. Interestingly, only the economic part of Joseph’s discourse is retained by Pharaoh, who seems more interested in the economic lesson than in the spiritual meaning of the dream and God’s role in producing it.
Read Genesis 41:37-57. What is God’s place in the success of Joseph?
Image © Lifeway Collection at Goodsalt.com
Pharaoh selects Joseph to take charge not so much because he had interpreted his dreams correctly and revealed the forthcoming problem of the land, but because he had a solution to that problem, because his “advice was good” (Genesis 41:37, NKJV), an opinion also shared by Pharaoh’s servants. Pharaoh’s choice seems to have been more pragmatic than religious. And yet, Pharaoh recognizes that the presence of “the Spirit of God” (Genesis 41:38) is in Joseph, who is qualified as “discerning and wise” (Genesis 41:39), an expression that characterizes the wisdom that God gives (see Genesis 41:33; compare with 1 Kings 3:12).
All the details reported in the biblical text fit the historical situation of Egypt at that time. Politically, the fact that Pharaoh appoints Joseph as vizier is not unusual in ancient Egypt, where cases of foreign viziers have been attested.
The next seven years are years of abundance in such a way that the grain production becomes “immeasurable” (Genesis 41:49, NKJV), a sign of supernatural providence. The comparison “as the sand of the sea” (Genesis 41:49) reveals that this is God’s blessing (Genesis 22:17). Joseph personally reflects that blessing in his own fruitfulness, a coincidence that evidences the presence of the same God behind the two phenomena. Joseph has two sons whose names show Joseph’s experience of God’s providence, which has transformed the memory of pain into joy (Manasseh) and the former affliction into fruitfulness (Ephraim). What a powerful example of how God turned some bad into something very good!
| What are ways that others should be able to see, from the kind of lives that we live, the reality of our God? |
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The Australian Wheat Board used to provide a single desk marketing service for Australian Wheat farmers until around 2005, the board was accused of giving kickbacks to the Saddam Hussein regime in the Oil for Food regime. The resulting scandal destroyed the careers of quite a few people and raised a whole lot of issues about the integrity of wheat sales, not only for Australia but for other countries as well. Even today, when I talk to some of my wheat-farming relatives, they claim that the AWB was set up by International players so that they could come in and take control over Australian Wheat. It is a complex issue and underlines that the supply and marketing of food require not only expert managers but men and women of integrity.
Joseph not only provided the interpretation of Pharoah's dream but his Curriculum Vitae included his time of service for Potiphar and his period in prison. In both these tasks, he had proven his integrity. Essentially, Joseph had lived his life according to the principle that I quoted last week.
I can only imagine the difficulties that had to be overcome in managing the storage and distribution of grain harvests over a 14-year period. There would have been many opportunities for self-profit but clearly, with God's guidance, Joseph had a plan.
I am acutely aware of the need for integrity in our dealings. Those of you who have read ny comments over a period of time know that I am involved with the U3A movement. This is a secular movement to provide education and socialization for the elderly. I volunteer as the IT officer for the local U3A, and it is my responsibility to purchase and manage computers for the organization. There is a conflict of interest policy that I have to abide by. And it is not just a legal document that sits in a repository. It has teeth and was applied to one of the other officers who did not declare a conflict of interest over providing office space.
The lesson author states that Pharoah's decision to appoint Joseph as vizier was more practical than religious. That may be so, but Joseph's practicality provided the opportunity for him to reveal God and give him the Glory.
Today's lesson notes that Pharaoh doesn't seem that interested in the 'spiritual' aspects or implications of his dreams. If we consider the nature and role of the pagan religions of bible times, this is not surprising.
The religion of Egypt (and other nations) did not have a God who was personally interested in having a relationship with humans (as per Daniel 2:11). From the perspective of these religions, humans existed to serve the needs of the gods. In contrast to 2 Peter 3:9, Egypt's gods were not trying to assist humans to salvation and restoration.
The presence or absence of these two inter-related dynamics distinguish between a religion that is merely a practical matter of survival and one that is inseparably both a spiritual (relational) and practical reality of life and Godliness (John 14:6; Galatians 2:20; John 13:35).
I noticed the similarity between the name of Joseph's boss, Potiphar, and hisfather-in-law, Poti Pherah. Is this a coincidence?
We don’t have any evidence they were the same person. It could just be a coincidence.
Here is what I discovered by googling:
Potiphar Definition and Meaning - Bible Dictionaryhttps://www.biblestudytools.com › dictionary › potiphar
an Egyptian name, also written Potipherah, signifies belonging to the sun . Potiphar. with whom the history of Joseph is connected is
We do have a lot of unrelated Jones in our area.
Joseph sure heeded Romans 12:2.
The Bible says that Potiphar was Pharoah's Captain of the Guard. It also says that Poti-Pherah was a priest of On. It's unlikely they would be the same person.
Yes, this makes sense.
My answer to the last question on this lesson is this: Nothing short of the Fruit of God's Holy Spirit in our lives and Jesus' flawless and perfect character (even though we are always coming short of their perfect and flawless performance too---But Jesus' covers our failures when we claim 1 John 1:9; 2:1,2; Hebrews 2:18; 4:16; 7:25; and 10:19,20 and Isaiah 1:16-18.)
Question in study: What are ways that others should be able to see, from the kind of lives that we live, the reality of our God?
The reality of our God is displayed in qualities and virtues and charachter of God, .... not head knowledge.
Children of God:
4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,
6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness,
7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.
2 Peter 1
Great thought. And what a wonderful passage to point to; it reveals much of what we should have after all these years of review and practicing these ‘great and precious promises’.
I liked the way this passage delineates and spells out the details of what must be done in such a mathematical way [‘by my spirit’ He does the ‘maths’ of adding, multiplying, removing (minus), permutating (providence: foresight, prudent anticipation, i.e. promises) in us the things delineated; not we ourselves.]
I note that many of the words in this passage are math terms: share, reason, supplement, Love (there is much ‘mathematism’ in this one alone, especially when viewed as a principle and not a feeling), possess, increasing measure, and then the equal sign = they will keep you from being useless (zero, nothing) or unfruitful (functional of X).
Quite good passage. Glad you quoted it here—blessing to me.
I guess the apostle Peter knew how to count fish and much more besides ... LOL !
Thank You for your kind encouragment.
In Christ
Shalom
🙏
It is interesting to note that the lesson writer in the conclusion of today’s lesson states: “What a powerful example of how God turned some bad into something very good!” If we believe that nothing happens outside of God’s providence, then this statement is incorrect.
Would it be better to state: ‘What a powerful example of how God works in mysterious ways to establish and work out His Plan of Salvation?’
From the wisdom imparted to Joseph to the willingness of Pharaoh to accept the council of a person serving a different God than he, establishing the practical response of his advice to deal with the famine, I can see the hand of God working in everything related to this event. God wanted to preserve His people and this is how He went about doing it.
Pharaoh recognized in Joseph, and we need to recognize in ourselves, that the ‘presence of the “spirit of God” is in us to give us “discernment and wisdom” - the characterization of the 'wisdom of God'. Like Joseph, we ought to trust and follow His spirit of wisdom to lead us in our daily affairs of life; Christ Jesus was our example, we ought to follow it.
Joseph's dreams (Gen. 37:4-10) became a reality (Gen. 42:6, 43:26, 44:14). When Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers (Gen. 45: 4,50), I am wondering why Joseph's brothers could not at this point remember the dreams their brother told them? Could it be because of guilt, or perhaps it is because of shame that they had to be silent? Does this say anything about the effect of evil actions?
I do believe they thought Joseph was dead. Genesis 42:13. But when Joseph revealed himself, I do believe they remembered well the dreams. They were shocked. Genesis 45:3. And yes I do believe, they were terrified as their sins flashed before them. That is why Joseph had to explain it all. I am sure he saw the fear in their eyes. Yes be sure your sins will find you out. Joseph's revealing words showed pardon before they asked. What a wonderful God we serve. The message of the Gospel is again revealed in our Sabbath School study of the Bible. Great observations and questions Jimmy, you get us deeper into the lesson. Great!
Amen, John Hershcher, but still why 400 years of Egyptian servitude? And then why still 40 years of desert wanderings? Then why does Moses then in Deuteronomy 4:29,30 tell them that they will still not do God's will but fall back to Idolatry etc. and etc. and God would disperse them to the four winds of heaven and yet if from there "even in the latter days," (us now,) we seek Him with our whole hearts and minds we would find Him? So here we are. And I always find Him when I seek Him with my whole heart etc. and etc. And God is about to start another judgement of 7 plagues before He shows up as Jesus to do one final show of "Salvational Power," to save those who are "safe to save."
Pete :
In every era, people are tested to see what's in hearts and minds.
Immortality is not given otherwise at judgement Revelation 20:11-15
Deuteronomy 8:1-3 (CSB)
1 “Carefully follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase, and may enter and take possession of the land the LORD swore to your fathers.
2 “Remember that the LORD your God led you on the entire journey these forty years in the wilderness, so that he might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
3 “He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Hebrews 12:22-23 (CSB)
22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering,
23 to the assembly of the firstborn whose *names have been written in heaven* to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect,
The Great White Throne Judgment Rev 20:
11 Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.
12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.
13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works.
14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.fn
15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Keep on trucking brother !
Shalom
🙏
I think Gen.15:16 gives us a clue.."the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full" God in His mercy was still giving the Amorites probation
"to save those who are "safe to save."
Peter, am wondering if there is a verse you had in mind for the 'safe to save.'; could you announce it to me. Thank you.
Peter, Just something I thought of when you mentioned 400 years and the travel of this family.
Jacob Family Travel:
Capital of Egypt in the 12th Dynasty: Itj-Tawy...It-jet-awee...(curiously, very much like Italy)
Itj-tawy = meaning is: who controls the two lands (upper and lower Egypt).Then its name became Lisht, where the pyramids of kings from the 12th dynasty. Lisht is a little south of Memphis, Egypt
How Far from Shechem: 263.7 miles.
About 10 Hours by Bus going 30 mph (today’s roads)
In feet: 1,392,336 feet. In steps: 464,112 approx.
(time to walk in their time with 3 sleep-overs
at 2 miles an hour = 61/2 days.) They made about five trips total and then settled in Goshen with Jacob.
The exodus trip was perhaps the last trip (the 6th trip), taking 40 years of countless steps. Then ‘rest’ for many years until Babylon.
This family did six trips between Shechem and Egypt and then ‘rested’.
I did not include the Jeremiah trip of the remnant who fled to Egypt and perished.
Usually when you hate a dream you kill it. (not always though, especially nightmares, etc) but we find almost always that when we hate someone else’s dream, we surely kill it in our memories, with prejudice in terror that it will remind us. We don’t know much about the 11 brother’s salvation progress, but we do know very much from this passage about Joseph’s changes, growths, salvation progress. And it is Joseph who lived away from the righteous nurture of his family, amid spiritual dangers of all kinds and thousands of tempting ‘idols and gods’ and doctrines. This then is the story, that althroughout the intervening years, Joseph increased, and as his name defines: God will add; taken away or praise; and fame taken away. (this is only biblical name that I have found so far with three distinct definitions; interesting.)
His coat was taken away…fame.
His praise and love from his father was severed, almost assuredly forever…His life taken away from the dotting of his father…
But God added, and kept on adding. Not because He wanted to show how He changes evil with good (much more than this), but why, how and to what extent or height that He will reward those who ‘thrill with the resolve to prove himself true—ever to act as becomes a subject of the King of heaven.’
This ‘Laban Experience; Daniel Experience; Joseph Experience’ is none other than the Experience of Christ: He not only became Prince of Israel, but He took away with him from earth the greatest of wealth—a world of human souls; leaving Satan vanquished.
Additionally, in each of the stories above, the ‘Ladder’ of this thing called the Spirit of Prophecy is active all through the experiences of their increase. In each of those experiences God used His Spirit in dreams, and other ways to increase these individuals ‘who were loving him’. 1 Cor. 2:9; James 1:12;
“In the crisis of his life, when making that terrible journey from his childhood home in Canaan to the bondage which awaited him in Egypt, looking for the last time on the hills that hid the tents of his kindred, Joseph remembered his father's God. He remembered the lessons of his childhood, and his soul thrilled with the resolve to prove himself true—ever to act as became a subject of the King of heaven.” –Education, page 52
Romans 5:11 is so very clear to me that Jesus fulfilled all that "The Day of Atonement," symbolized. Jesus is our "Atonement." Jesus did not do this in 1844 He did this at Calvary 2,000 plus or minus years ago "Once for all."
Hi Pete, good to hear from you as always. Could it be that there is way more to the atonement than just making us friends with Jesus again? The sanctuary is the plan of salvation and the courtyard represents the cross where the sacrifice is made. IF everything was accomplished and competed on calvary, what are the Holy and Most holy places for? What part do they play in the plan of salvation? Also the math can't be wrong. Something happened in 1844. What was it? If it was not the day of atonement then what was the cleansing of the sanctuary mentioned in Daniel 8:14? And why was there a day of atonement in the Old Testament if it was not a shadow of something greater in the New Testament?
The holy place IS the Spirit of God's presence unity with God
Are we not micro temples of God ?
1 Corinthians 3;15
If we are a temple of God, where is it in us ?
Answer... in the deep processes of our mind, spirit and motivations !
Ephesians 4 ..oneness in the Spirit !
Hebrews 10:14 spirits made perfect
Shalom
Amen .... Let's break ATONEMNT down to AT-One-Ment ...
We are at one with God when the Spirit of God is joined in our spiritual birth and continues in our SANTIFICATION. (born again / born from above)
Let's us keep on trucking in that environment of oneness !
We are temples of God, are we not ? Amen !
In Christ
👍
Pete ... corrections on quoted scriptures ...
Spirits made perfect;
Hebrews 12:21-24 (CSB)
21 The appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear.
22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering,
23 to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the *spirits of righteous people made perfect,*
24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel.
At-one-meant:
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (CSB)
16 *Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple* and that the *Spirit of God lives in you*?
17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.
Thank you for your great comment on the atonement !
We are micro temples and collectively God's temple.
God will be all IN ALL
1 Corinthians 15:28 (CSB)
*When everything is subject to Christ*
then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him,
*so that God may be all in all*
The temple (new heavens) is in progress since Christ's resurrection !
First Borns of God through and in Christ!
Shalom
Keep on trucking
🙏